FX's offbeat comedy 'Louie' holds steady ratings in Season 4 premiere

Monday's Season 4 premiere of 'Louie' delivered 941,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen.

"Louie" is back -- and his fans turned up to see him again.

Monday's Season 4 premiere of FX's offbeat comedy by Louis C.K. -- following a hiatus of more than a year and a half -- delivered 941,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen.

That was up 19% compared with the Season 3 average. That's the good news for FX.

Photos

CaptionFrom film to TV, and vice versa | 'Veronica Mars'

Robert Voets / AP

The beloved fan favorite TV series "Veronica Mars" finally made its much-heralded return, this time on the silver screen. Thanks to overwhelming fan support via a Kickstarter campaign last year, everyone's favorite teen (now young adult) sleuth is back on the case. While the phenomenon of TV...

The beloved fan favorite TV series "Veronica Mars" finally made its much-heralded return, this time on the silver screen. Thanks to overwhelming fan support via a Kickstarter campaign last year, everyone's favorite teen (now young adult) sleuth is back on the case. While the phenomenon of TV... (Robert Voets / AP)

Author Candace Bushnell launched a wealth of possibilities when she penned a collection of essays for the New York Observer titled "Sex and the City." The tales were based on her ever-changing sex life and those of her friends. Bushnell then took her columns and published them in a book of the...

Author Candace Bushnell launched a wealth of possibilities when she penned a collection of essays for the New York Observer titled "Sex and the City." The tales were based on her ever-changing sex life and those of her friends. Bushnell then took her columns and published them in a book of the... (Craig Blankenhorn / New Line Cinema)

Created as a spoof of the 1970s and 1980s after-school specials, "Strangers With Candy" chronicled the life of Geraldine "Jerri" Antonia Blank (Amy Sedaris), a 46-year-old ex-con, ex-drug addict and ex-prostitute who returned to high school as a freshman, hoping to begin her life anew. Along...

Created as a spoof of the 1970s and 1980s after-school specials, "Strangers With Candy" chronicled the life of Geraldine "Jerri" Antonia Blank (Amy Sedaris), a 46-year-old ex-con, ex-drug addict and ex-prostitute who returned to high school as a freshman, hoping to begin her life anew. Along... (Think Film)

When David Lynch and Mark Frost's eerie mystery soap opera was canceled in 1991, fans had learned the identity of Laura Palmer's murderer but little else. Which made Lynch's decision to bring the cast back to the big screen for a prequel all the more infuriating. The 1992 film "Twin Peaks: Fire...

When David Lynch and Mark Frost's eerie mystery soap opera was canceled in 1991, fans had learned the identity of Laura Palmer's murderer but little else. Which made Lynch's decision to bring the cast back to the big screen for a prequel all the more infuriating. The 1992 film "Twin Peaks: Fire... (Kimberly Wright / Lynch Frost Productions)

Executive producer George Lucas intended this spinoff series to educate American audiences on world history more than thrill them with exciting stunts, which may be why relatively few tuned into the series when it aired on ABC and later ABC Family. Still, the series did stick to the same...

Executive producer George Lucas intended this spinoff series to educate American audiences on world history more than thrill them with exciting stunts, which may be why relatively few tuned into the series when it aired on ABC and later ABC Family. Still, the series did stick to the same... (Paramount Home Entertainment)

But the show was way down compared with the Season 3 premiere in June 2012, which rounded up 1.4 million viewers. As FX pointed out in a news release, those numbers were likely inflated due to the promotion surrounding the premiere of "Anger Management," Charlie Sheen's comedy.

FX is airing "Louie" in double episode blocks through June 16. The second episode on Monday night drew 910,000.